The Knicks Just Comitted to Jerome James

Demetrius Nichols and Jared Jordan are now officially cut. Neither really had much of a chance outside of practice; in their few preseason appearances, neither got onto the court until the game was already out of hand, in one direction or the other.

Jordan isn't a huge loss - his peak value is probably a good back-up point guard on a decent team, and all the Knicks gave up for him were cash considerations. But Nichols was also cut, and the team traded a future 2nd round draft pick for him. He probably wouldn't have cracked the rotation this year, but he has a sweet jumper, the ability to run through picks like a light version of Reggie Miller, and the potential to play defense, and - lest we forget - we all thought that Mardy Collins wouldn't get any time, and he played 40 minute games near the end of the season last year.

Cutting Nichols isn't going to ruin the Knicks' chances this year, but he was a solid selection for the 2nd round. Giving him away - probably to Cleveland - just seems like a bad move, especially when Isiah Thomas is one of the few GM's in the league who can actually find someone worth keeping with those second round picks (Trevor Ariza was #43, David Lee was the last pick in the first round).

Why, again?
I guess Isiah Thomas really sees the potential in Jerome James. Or, more likely, James Dolan has gotten sick of spending his money to correct Thomas' mistakes. Unfortunately, James isn't just going to take Nichols' spot. He's also going to take someone's spot next year, and the year after that. And, if you're really into the idea of having a 7-footer on your team, you could also say that he took Kelvin Cato's spot. Cato didn't see a lot of minutes last season, but was effective when he did. He has to be disappointed he wasted a year on the Knicks when he had other options.